CMS & COVID-19

• CMS FAQ - Selected Ambulance Topics: alternate destinations, co-pays, and in-home services provided by ambulance personnel under arrangement with a physician, or non-physician practitioner. (Updated 6/16/20) 
  
• CMS FAQ Document for Ambulance Services (Updated 5/27/20 - See pages 22-29)
  
• CMS Allows for “Verbal Consent” by COVID-19 Patients
  
• Medicare Coverage and Payment of Virtual Services
  
• Lessons from The Front Lines: COVID-19 (recorded conference call)
  
• COVID-19: Expanded Use of Ambulance Origin/Destination
• Ambulances: CMS Flexibilities to Fight COVID-19 (3/30/20) - temporarily expanding the list of allowable destinations for ambulance transports, and more.
• CMS Takes Action Nationwide to Aggressively Respond to Coronavirus National Emergency (3/13/20)
• COVID-19 Emergency Declaration Health Care Providers Fact Sheet (3/13/20)

CARES Act Grant/Stimulus Updates

• HHS Portal - ambulance providers/suppliers will need to submit their revenue information using an online portal with payments to follow on a rolling basis once the ambulance provider/supplier’s information has been validated. The portal is now open. Please visit: https://covid19.linkhealth.com/docusign/#/step/1.  
  
• What EMS Needs to Know About the Latest Round of HHS COVID Funds (4/24/20)
• HHS formula for $20 billion in CARES Act provider grants prompts questions (4/23/20)
• Surprise Billing Banned for Providers That Get CARES Act Grants (4/9/20)
• Relief payments under the CARES Act begin for ambulance services (4/10/20)

Mental Health Resources

• Tania Glenn - Deployment Brief
• SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline

Funding for EMS - TAKE ACTION TODAY!

4/23/20 - While EMS agencies have received some relief through the passage of the CARES Act, the needs of our EMS agencies and personnel serving on the frontlines of this pandemic war were not adequately addressed through the CARES Act legislation. All EMS systems, whether they are public, private or a combination of both, are struggling.

Please ask Congress to provide direct funding relief for EMS in Phase 4 COVID-19 legislation to ensure that we can safely continue to serve our communities! It takes less than a minute!

TAKE ACTION HERE.  It only takes a few moments.

Advocacy

• NAEMT letter to Congressional leadership requesting CMS to reimburse all ground ambulance providers for performing protocol-driven treatments in place (TIP) without transport during the COVID-19 pandemic response. (5/4/20)
  
• NAEMT Phase 4 Letter to Congress (4/21/20)
• NAEMT - National Survey on COVID-19 Impact (4/21/20)
• NAEMT CMS Request for Clarification of COVID Patients (4/21/20)
• NAEMT’s comment to the final interim rule on the Temporary Expansion Sites for alternative destinations (4/20/20)
• NAEMT letter to US Dept. of Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar
• NAEMT letter to Dept. of Homeland Security Chad Wolf